Thunderstorms
by coffee666
Summary: Anne and Gilbert are home for a break that happens to align with a terrible storm, leaving them trapped alone in Green Gables until morning. Of course Anne can handle spending the night alone with Gilbert. Of course they can be mature and responsible adults. Of course.


rolling thunder

Anne and Gilbert are home for a break that happens to align with a terrible storm, leaving them trapped alone in Green Gables until morning.

Of course Anne can handle spending the night alone with Gilbert. Of course they can be mature and responsible adults.

Of course.

Anne sat bent over the dining room table at Green Gables, now her temporary study haven. Books and stacks of paper cluttered all around, save for a tiny spot for the lantern.

The only sound other than the scratch of pencil on paper was the rain rattling against the house. There was the occasional flash of lighting outside, and once or twice she jumped from a crack of thunder, but Anne didn't let that distract her.

A break from lectures didn't mean Anne didn't have work to do. If anything it was just enough time for her to finish her backlog of assignments before the classes started up again.

And while Anne had used her first day or two back to catch up with Matthew and Marilla, she knew it would be smart to get back to work when she would be home alone.

It was either study, or worry. Or ache.

Worry, because Matthew was taking Marilla back to the oculist. Marilla had been taken with headaches lately, and while she assured everyone she probably just needed her prescription changed, Anne couldn't help but worry that it was more, and pray that it wasn't.

Her other mind and heart's occupant was ache. She missed Gilbert with every fiber of her being, as she told him in almost every letter she wrote.

But Gilbert's classes wouldn't be finished until tomorrow, meaning he would not be back home until late tomorrow night, even if that early.

Anne's pencil slowed on her paper as her mind wandered. The ache was there, but so was a small smile pulling at her lips at a certain memory.

The last time Gilbert had visited her at school, they spent every second together, and when it was reluctantly time to part that first night, Gilbert had kissed her right in Mrs. Blackmore's living room. She's received such a scolding when it turned out Mrs. Blackmore had seen, but it was worth it.

She still remembered the rare few kissed they'd shared when completely alone. There was always something in Anne that wanted more. To pull him ever closer until they were one.

Floating from the dining room, Anne put down her pencil and went upstairs to her room. It was just as she'd left it before—Marilla clean, save for Anne's trunk which was already with strewed contents across the floor.

Anne crouched down by it and rooted for a certain book. The book's words were not important, Anne thought for the first time ever, it was what she'd stored within the pages.

Being without Gilbert in Avonlea for just a day was so heartbreaking, that Anne had decided to take one of his letters with her.

Anne and Gilbert being in constant correspondence meant she had quite the collection of letters, but she'd kept the rest in the special box she stored them in. They were precious things not to be touched. This one had come with her only after she did all she could to assure no harm would come to it.

She sat cross-legged on the floor and carefully read it for what felt like the hundredth time, her fingers lightly brushing where he'd written her name.

_My Anne—_

Anne smiled at the sight of that, going on to read about how he had went down to the beach one weekend and walked barefoot on the sand.

In one passage, he described the sound of the wind on the sea and how he could have sworn he heard her laughter on the waves.

Anne didn't know where Gilbert learned to be so poetic, but it truly made her fall more in love with him every time she opened one of his letters.

She lifted the paper up, her eyes scanning each word to find smudges in the ink, just little moments where his hands rested in writing.

She pictured his hands, once farm-worn and now surprisingly soft, and the way they stroked the skin of her cheek or brushed her neck.

So lost in her imagination, Anne nearly jumped out of her skin when a crack of thunder shook the house. It was then followed by a loud rattle somewhere else in the house.

Anne's breath hitched with a sharp intake as she carefully put away Gilbert's letter and walked out into the hallway. It was dark, the only light coming from the lamp in Anne's room.

The rattling grew louder as Anne walked down the hallway and paused outside Jerry's room. She opened the door and peered inside. It was empty, as Jerry usually spent weekends back home with his family, and he'd even left early this evening to beat the storm.

"It's nothing, Anne." She told herself. "You've just overworked yourself… There's no such thing as ghosts, remember!"

The rattling was back, but this time, Anne just followed the noise with a determination to stop it. She crossed the dark room to the window. With no moonlight in the storm, it too Anne walking so that she was flush to the window to see that the shutters were banging.

Anne rolled her eyes and silently cursed Jerry as she reached down and undid the latch. She winced as she opened the window, cold wind and freezing water dowsing her instantly. She grit her teeth and leaned out to grab the shutters and pull them closed before slamming the window.

"Great…" Anne sighed, stepping back from the window, now soaked.

Anne grabbed a towel and dried off as best she could when the rattling noise returned.

"I swear, Jerry!" Anne growled, snatching up her bedside lantern and stomping back to his room.

She opened the door and walked to the window. Other than stepping in a small puddle on the floor, there was nothing.

Anne listened, the sound returning once more. Only then, she realized it was not rattling, but banging downstairs.

"Please don't be a stranger…" Anne whispered to herself as she silently dashed down the stairs.

She was too charitable to turn someone away in a storm, but at the same time, she learned her lesson on strangers around Green Gables.

"I hope it is Jerry. I hope he's crawling back so I can tell him to clean his room…." Anne stood just by the front door, feeling a slight cold draft on her toes as she called out. "Who is it?"

"My Anne with an E…" A voice called back, shaking with cold.

Anne gasped. Putting the lantern down on the counter, she hurried to unlock the door and let him in.

"Gilbert!"

Anne pulled him inside. Gilbert was soaked to the bone and had clearly been trying to carry his bags in a way that they wouldn't get wet, with little luck. Still, Anne couldn't help but be suddenly bursting with excitement and the thought that he looked perfect in this moment.

"Gilbert, what are you doing here?" Anne smiled at him as she hung on his arm, resisting the urge to pull him into a hug. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, keeping her at a slight distance as his clothes were dripping.

"I finished c-classes early…so I took a train that was supposed to be early too, but then it ran late. When it pulled in at Bright River, I couldn't get a ride because of the storm, but it hadn't even started raining yet, so I thought I'd walk…" He explained as Anne took his bags and he began peeling off his wet coat.

She could hear the chattering of his teeth, a flow of affection going through her now as she placed his bags on the bench.

"You walked all the way here?"

"Well, then it started raining, then it started _storming…_"

"Oh Gilbert." She sighed.

"Yes, but then someone took pity and gave me a ride. I told them Green Gables, since it was closer…"

"And you really wanted to see me first?" Anne asked with teasing hopefulness.

"Yes." He admitted, reaching up to touch her face. His hands burned like ice, but Anne didn't mind.

She kissed him, letting her own hands that were hopefully warmer, go around his neck. She let her fingers slip up into his hair. Usually one of her favorite things to do, but she was hit with even more wet cold.

"Gilbert, you're freezing!" Anne said. "You'll get sick. Here, I'll get you a towel and start the fire. You've got to have something hot to eat, too."

"I—I don't want to disturb anyone." He said in a hushed voice, glancing towards the stairs.

"You won't. Matthew and Marilla aren't here. It's just me, and I'm not going to let you sit around like this!"

"I was really only thinking of two things on the way here," He said as Anne grabbed a towel and draped it around his shoulders. "One, was how cold I was, and the other was how much I wanted to see you. And then when I did see you, I didn't feel cold anymore."

Anne smiled and pulled the towel over his head so he wouldn't see her blush. She then scrubbed at his hair to dry it and he laughed. Anne loved when she could make him laugh.

"Come on, follow me." Anne was still chuckling, giddy with his presence as she grabbed one of his bags off the bench and led him upstairs. "You can change in here."

Down from Jerry's room was the spare bedroom. Anne opened the door and set the bag down. Once upon a time, this had been a lying gold-digger's room, but no one used it now. Anne had to find a match book to light the lamps for Gilbert.

After lighting the sconces in the hall, and went downstairs and to the fireplace. In her time studying, she'd let the flames grow low. She tended them higher now, feeling the warmth on her face as they rose. She hung his coat on a chair nearby to dry.

Anne could already hear Marilla's scold if she let water ruin the floors, so she made sure to place a towel under where it was dripping.

She then went to the stove and started up the soup pot once more. Anne had already had some at dinner, but a late-night snack sounded tempting now. She was filling the kettle for tea later, when she heard him come back downstairs.

"Hey, Anne…?"

Anne looked over at him. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped the kettle when she saw that Gilbert was shirtless.

She quickly turned back around and kept her eyes on the counter, willing the involuntary smile from her face and for her heart to stop racing.

"Is my other suitcase down here? It has most of my clothes." Gilbert said.

"Y-Yes…" Anne was grateful she hadn't lit most of the lights, praying he wouldn't see her blush in the dimness as she grabbed his other bag from by the door.

She turned to see he had come closer. Anne snapped her eyes from his chest up to his face and he gave her an almost knowing smile as he took it from her.

"You're going to stay the night, aren't you?" She blurted before she could stop herself. He paused on his way back to the stairs. "It's just… it's so bad out, I cannot let you walk in that!"

As if to help with her point, a strong gust of wind came by, smacking tree branches into the side of the house and rattling heavy rain against the roof.

"I would hate to walk in that…" Gilbert agreed, seeming to be contemplating. "I—If it's not too much trouble—"

"It's not!" Anne assured him, face still pink. "Matthew and Marilla won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. I, um, make a very good hostess."

"Alright then." He nodded finally.

Anne nodded back, resisting the urge to express her glee any further as he went upstairs. She then leaned back against the counter and sighed in almost relief, smiling then as her mind worked to perfectly preserve the image of him. It was with only slight guilt that she thought it was good to respark her imagination fuel for daydreams.

She then went upstairs to her own room to change. Pausing briefly outside the guest room, she couldn't hear anything particularly interesting.

As she bent to open a drawer, she paused. Should she change into pajamas, or would that be too… something? She didn't know if Gilbert was putting on pajamas or just dry clothes. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

But this was her house, and he had just been the one with the audacity to go shirtless in her house. It may have just been for a moment, but there was no way he assumed she wasn't going to look. Anne was only a romantic hearted human girl.

She quickly changed into a nightgown and brushed her hair, opting for braids now that her hair was down. They were easy and classic, and she was fairly certain that they were a favorite of Gilbert's as well, not that that mattered, but still.

She heard Gilbert leave the bedroom and go back downstairs. Anne then slipped out into the hallway and peered into the guest room. Everything was just as neat as it'd always been, and Anne could see his suitcases in the closet. Of course he just had to be nice and tidy in addition to handsome and kind.

Anne was aware of the cold floors on her bare feet and legs and she walked to the kitchen, breath in her throat from nerves. There was Gilbert leaning back against the counter, eating a bowl of soup.

He was in pajamas. The wide collar of his nightshirt exposed a swatch of chest and Anne bit back a smile that he was also barefoot.

"Sorry, the table in there is messy, I was studying." She explained, feeling a rush of color to her face as she made herself a bowl and leaned beside him, their shoulders touching.

"On break? I shouldn't have expected anything less." He smiled at her. His hair was mostly dry, but didn't look at all as if he'd thought to brush it. Anne smirked, finding that adorable.

"You're not taking a _real _break either, right?" She asked as she took a bite. "Mister Medicine never sleeps."

"Untrue. I promised Bash I'd take at least a few days completely off of work. We're going to take Dellie out, let her toddle her way across the island."

"Sounds fun!" Anne chuckled.

They were silent for a moment, both eating. Anne wondered what he was thinking. It wasn't that he was particularly hard to read, but it was just that this was different. A good different, but still different.

Not even as friends had they spent a night together, and ever since they began courting, their alone time wasn't truly alone. There was always Lilly or Mrs. Blackmore lurking in the next room. Their outing were in public, within the bustle of Charlottetown, and in their breaks home, there was so much family.

For two orphans, they were not without the constant eye of someone well-meaning and loving wanting to spend time with them.

"I've really missed you, Anne." Gilbert said, breaking the silence.

"I've missed you too… so much. I feel like we're apart longer and longer each time." She admitted. "It's why I've been working so hard. School is so…engrossing, that I forget everything else."

"That reminds me." He put his empty bowl on the table and flashed her a sheepish smile. "Some of the books I brought got kind of wet on the way over…"

"You brought books…" She raised her eyebrows before laughing. "Of course you did."

After dinner, they both sat in front of the fireplace. Anne had many fond memories of sitting down on the hearth playing marbles with Matthew, but now she sat with Gilbert, slowly turning pages of his damp textbook to help it dry.

He sat cross-legged on the rug, turning the pages of one of his books with one hand, sipping tea with the other. Anne was laying on her stomach beside him, her own book pulled close as she read over the last of the work she'd been doing before he'd arrived.

"Engrossing?" He teased, finishing his cup and placing it down on the hearth beside Anne's own empty one.

"Yes." Anne nodded, her feet lazily kicking in the air. "Actually, I'm trying to get this scholarship Queens."

"You are?" He looked over in surprise.

"Yes, it's for anyone in their second year, and I just want to show how hard I've worked…" Anne said. That's what she'd told Diana and the others, but there was a bit more she wasn't letting on. She glanced up at him, feeling the slight walls break and moving to sit up. "And… well, I don't want Matthew and Marilla to have to worry too much anymore. If I can take a slight burden off of them, then I want to."

"You're not a burden to them, Anne—" He started.

"I know." Anne said, moving closer so their shoulders touched again. "I know, not like that, it's just…I want to be proud of myself for doing this for them. I want to prove to myself that I can do this, that I'm smart."

"You are the smartest person I think I've ever met." He said.

Anne looked at him again. He'd said person, and not just girl. She couldn't help but smile at the rush of affection for him. After everything they'd gone through at that tail end of high school, they were here together now. They were an us.

Gilbert's eyes moved from Anne's face, drifting down to her shoulder. Anne knew he was looking at what she was wearing. It wasn't a mistake, though, she told herself. She rather liked the way he was looking at her.

She leaned in and kissed him, placing a hand on his face. They were both warm now, and Anne couldn't help but wonder how long it'd been since they kissed. Really kissed. Like this.

Maybe it wasn't since the first time. There was always someone walking in, just in another room, or someone giving them a scandalized glare on the street.

But they were alone now. Only the sound of the crackling fire and the distant roll of thunder as rain pattered overhead.

She moved both hands to his face, feeling his slight smile against her lips. He smelled so good, fresh like fallen rain. He tasted like it too.

It made her heart pound. The usual tingles she got when they were together seemed to multiply now. That butterfly feeling in her stomach that always accompanied her best imaginative moments soared, her mind desperate to save this.

To save the feeling of his hands, warm on her arms right where her sleeves ended and he touched her bare freckled skin.

Anne didn't want to stop, remembering they didn't have to. She dared deepen the kiss, brushing her tongue against his, craving the taste of rain.

The slight noise Gilbert made was enough. It sent shockwaves through her body. They pulled back long enough for Anne to catch her breath before pulling him back in.

One hand moved to the back of his neck, feeling his skin warmed by the fire. There had been many times since they've been together that Anne tousled his hair now that she could, but this time she let her fingers slip up into his slightly-damp curls before gently scratching her nails against his scalp.

She hadn't even realized her other hand had moved until she felt the firm warmth of his chest beneath it. She heard another noise from him as her fingers moved up to touch the bare skin of his chest. Gilbert then pulled back slightly, their kiss breaking and his breath now heavy.

A loud crack of thunder shook the walls, startling Anne and sending Gilbert jumping back a bit further. His hands gently found her wrists, bringing her hands off of him.

"Hey, hey… slow down." Gilbert whispered.

"What's wrong?" She asked, feeling a rawness in her own hushed voice.

"N-Nothing." He took several deep breaths, his eyes closed. "We just need to slow down, is all."

"Slow down?" Anne blinked. "But there's nobody here."

"That's why…" Gilbert was still breathing heavy, his face red.

"I don't understand." She shook her head. "We finally have privacy… Isn't that what you've been wanting too?"

"I didn't realize—I mean, I didn't mean for you to think that." He seemed to be controlling his breathing now, opening his eyes and looking at her with too serious of an expression for her liking.

"Oh." Stunned, Anne pulled her hands away from him. She suddenly felt freezing, despite the roaring fire. "Oh…"

"Anne—"

"No, it's fine." She quickly forced on a smile despite how red she was. "I guess I just got the wrong idea from earlier."

"I didn't—" He looked almost stunned. "Anne, did you—"

"It's okay." She cut him off, feeling her heart pound. "Let's just go to bed, alright?"

Anne kept her eyes down as she quickly stood up and crossed the room. The warmth seemed to vanish from her body as she left the firelight behind, but she just needed to get away.

She knew she was leaving a mess of books and dishes to clean up before Matthew and Marilla got home tomorrow, but she didn't much care at the moment.

Anne managed to hold it together as she sped up the stairs. That dark feeling closing in was all too familiar, but she forced it away, purged it from her mind as she shut the bedroom door.

Rejection. Being undesirable. Unlovable.

"No…" She shook her head, actually get a handle on those feelings and chasing them off with a reminder. "Not now. Never was."

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door and Anne pried her eyes from her rainy reflection in the window to look over.

"Anne?" Gilbert's voice was quiet.

"Yes?" She sat on the bed, trying to portray the illusion that she was already halfway asleep. When he didn't immediately respond, Anne wondered if he was truly this torn over what to say.

"…Goodnight. I love you."

"…I love you too." Anne felt all of her affection for him return, and she couldn't stop herself from going to the door to open it a crack, seeing him smiling back at her.

When he leaned in and kissed her, Anne told herself not to get too swept up, but that was quite impossible. Gilbert had a special way of kissing with such passion and intensity, even when it was just a goodnight peck.

"Hey," Gilbert took her hands in his when they parted and from standing this close, Anne could see an unmistaken blush on his cheeks. "There's this… weird noise in my room. You should come investigate."

"It's probably just the shutters. The wind was banging them on that side of the house earlier." Anne followed him down the hallway, something making those butterflies in her stomach again.

It wasn't until she entered his room that she realized what it was. The only sound was the constant pattering of heavy rain on the roof. She eyed the closed window before turning around to face him where'd he'd hung back by the doorway.

"Hey, there's no noise in here." She narrowed her eyes as she pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"I know." He closed the door.

Anne knew what he was doing, and she couldn't help but feel uncertain despite the smile pulling at her lips. Anne watched him cross the room towards her, the single lamp casting enough light for her to see the romance in his eyes.

"Gilbert, I…" Anne forced herself to stay in the moment, to not get lost when he touched her face and traced his thumb gently over her cheek in that way that he did.

"I didn't mean to upset you before." He said softly.

"I didn't mean to make you…uncomfortable." She looked into his eyes. "I didn't even think about how we might…want different things, concerning _that_."

"We don't." He said quickly, leaning down so his voice was just a whisper in her ear. Everything about it, the tone and warmth, sent shivers through her. "I don't. Of course I wanted that too one day, Anne. You just surprised me, is all. I got a bit overwhelmed. I guess I needed a minute to wrap my head around it."

"One day." She repeated, her voice wavering from the feeling of his fingers going down to touch her neck. "That doesn't have to be today…right now. I'd never want you to feel like you have to…"

"I know that. I want to." Gilbert's fingers trailed back up her neck and he held her face again. "I love you, Anne. I love you more than anything. I want to show you that…"

"O-Okay…"

Anne let the tiny guarded walls she had up collapse, let herself melt into it when he kissed her again. She was not completely ignorant to what it all entailed. She'd on a few occasions skimmed a book in the Queens' library, but it was a book she was too embarrassed to read when someone could look over her shoulder, and she was much too embarrassed to even consider checking it out, even if it was academic and medical.

That left her only with a hazy idea of what was to come, but as another roll of thunder passed overhead, Anne decided to just trust her instincts. And trust Gilbert. This didn't have to be perfect. Even if it wasn't, it was going to be.

He kissed her deeply, Anne feeling his tongue soft against her, sending heat through her body. His hands touched her neck again, trailing down slowly and then back up.

His body pressed to hers, Anne hadn't realized she'd moved until she felt the bed behind her. Just the touch of it sent her heart racing.

She sat down on the bed, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him down with her. Anne breathed in relief when he came willingly, feeling his smile against her lips. It was then Gilbert who slid his tongue in deeper, sending Anne wild.

She tried it again this time, tangling her fingers into his hair just above his neck and scrapping her nails along his scalp. The noise he emitted low in his throat sent through her as well, and Anne found herself moaning lightly in return.

Anne's heart seemed to be pounding harder than ever before, and she wondered if Gilbert could feel it. His fingers moved from her neck even lower, tracing along the lace collar of her nightgown. Anne's breathing hitched in her throat as Gilbert pulled back from their kiss and moved to place his mouth to her neck.

Anne gasped, breath she didn't know she could draw now into her lungs. She slowly eased back, her head onto the pillows, reminding herself to breath but only gasping again as Gilbert gently kissed up and down the skin of her neck.

He pulled down her collar just enough to latch his mouth onto the skin there, sending Anne further into a mess of gasps. Forcing herself to breath, Anne reached down to touch his chest again, letting her fingers over the bare swatch of skin at his collar before tugging at the hem of his shirt.

The amazing warmth of his mouth was gone for a second as he pulled his shirt off with such speed, tugging it off over his head and tossing it to the floor. Anne shivered a laugh, placing her hands flat to his warm chest as he resumed his mouth on her neck, Anne feeling him work red spots into her skin, gasping when she felt teeth.

"Gilbert…" She whimpered.

"You're so beautiful." He breathed against her skin, and Anne felt his hand on her hip.

His hand moved up and down her side and she felt his warmth through the thin fabric of her gown. Anne's hands went to his back, pulling him closer, desperate for him against the burning heat inside her.

There was a mutual groan and gasp as Anne felt Gilbert move to press against her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her gown falling back over her thighs.

Gilbert's hands then went under the fabric, smoothing over her bare legs, causing Anne to tremble as she felt his warmth. His hands moved over her stomach, tracing the line of her underwear. Anne whimpered again as he moved higher to gently cup her breasts.

Anne grabbed at the folded hem of her gown and tugged it up, arching her back against his body as she pulled her gown off over her head and tossed it towards the foot of the bed. Gilbert watched, pupils dilated with almost hunger as Anne's underslip went next, exposing her bare breasts to him as it was pulled off and discarded.

Anne felt both vulnerable and safe. Loved under his intense gaze. She slowly laid back down, her now-loose braids spilling out behind her.

"So beautiful." He whispered, blanketing her with his body. Anne trembled as warm hands explored her breasts. He then began slowly rocking against her.

Anne didn't seem to have any control of her voice, remaining a mess of moans growing slowly louder as he angled against her in a way that seemed to stir all the heat in her body.

"Can you feel me?" Gilbert's whisper was raw and breathy in her ear. "Can you feel how much I want you, Anne?"

She could feel him, but she could not speak. Anne's own voice felt far gone, too dry from gasps, the pleasure too much for her mind to focus on remembering how to speak. She could only nod desperately, her arms around his shoulders keeping him close.

The irony of Anne speechless was not lost on him, but she only felt his soft laughter against her neck for half a second before his tongue was there again.

One of his hands left her chest and Anne felt it slip between their bodies, finally pressing palm between her legs, causing Anne to moan louder. She forced her voice out as his hand rubbed circles, sending fire through her.

"Gil…" She whispered, his name and a mix of pleas fell from her lips as she rocked her hips to the movement of his hand.

Anne moved one hand from mapping the rolling muscles on his back to reach between them. The pocket of heat between their bodies had sweat trickling down his chest. She felt it drip onto her stomach as she reached down.

His hand on her stilled as the other hand reached and took her wrist, gently pinning her arm back down to the bed. Anne huffed lightly in annoyance.

"Gilbert, please…" Anne managed to say. "Let me touch you."

Gilbert seemed to hesitate for a moment, Anne feeling his racing heart near her own. She then felt him slowly ease his trousers down just past his hips. He took her hand again and guided it down between them.

Anne trembled as she pressed her hand to the hard cloth-covered flesh within his underwear. He groaned into her ear, saying her name as she touched him. He guided her hand again to slow strokes, feeling fluid dampen his underwear.

She wished he'd take them off. Take hers off too, but the elusive fantasy feeling of flesh on flesh was dangerous, Anne knew. That's where accidents happened, and she knew it was understood, yet unspoken that they couldn't yet walk that path.

It would have to remain just that, a fantasy. One she imagined as Gilbert lifted her gown all the way and laid against her. Their foreheads rested together, eyes locking in the dim light and finding each other's smiles.

Anne then felt him grind against her again, with now only two thin layers between them, it sent waves of fiery pleasure through her. Anne's hands went around his neck again, fingers now tangling roughly in his hair and tugging.

Gilbert growled in her ear, baring his teeth against her neck again as one of his hands held her hip, the other cupping the side of her face.

Neither of them could speak now. The sound of the distant roll of thunder and falling sheets of rain were interposed with their breathing and moans.

Anne was surrounded by his scent, his voice echoing through her as she chased the heat that she could feel building in her core. She was trembling against him, her thighs shaking around him.

"Anne…" Gilbert moaned, his voice rough and raw. "_God—_"

Anne suddenly felt a rising spike in pleasure. Uncontrollable moans falling from her open mouth as she burned. Her legs wrapped tight around him, pressing him to her as she shook. She could hear Gilbert moaning in her ear, growling as she felt him throbbing against her.

All sound seemed to slowly die. There was only gasping as they both fought to catch their breaths. Anne was reluctant to let go of him, but her hands felt useless, and her arms finally fell from around his neck to land with thumps onto the mattress.

Gilbert takes another moment, breathing heavy against her skin. Anne doesn't tell him she's uncomfortably warm. She just waited for him to finally roll off of her and lay beside her.

It took everything for Anne to hold back laughter. She didn't even know what was funny, but she'd rather die than ruin this moment for them.

But it only took her glancing over and meeting his eyes, seeing his own barely held in laughter, before her own came rushing out.

Gilbert's laughter, once a rare treat, only ever came out in full force around those who he loved. It was a frequent sound with her now, and ever contagious.

Anne wasn't sure how long they both laid there, breathing and laughing, and stealing passion-filled glances that only made them laugh harder.

"I'm thirsty." Anne whispered, sitting up and reaching for something she hoped was her gown wadded at the foot of the bed.

"No, lay down, I can get it." Gilbert is already up. He stood from the bed and pulled his pants back up.

Anne still grabbed for her gown, watching him cross the room with a look of dazed affection on her face. He glanced over his shoulder at the threshold and saw him smile back at her. Anne laughed lightly again at how much of a mess his hair was.

She pulled her gown back over her head, pulling her braids from inside the collar and laying back down. She was suddenly freezing as their shared warmth vanished. Anne took back the covers and climbed under.

She gulped down the water he brought her, watching his body unabashedly as he searched the floor for his shirt, finally tugging it on and climbing into the bed side her.

Anne settled against him, draping her arm across his chest. They'd never laid like this together, and the intimacy isn't lost on her, nor is it diminished in the light of what they'd just experienced.

Sleep weighed heavily against her, but Anne forced herself to stay awake as she felt his heartbeat and thought for words. His finger gently traced her jaw. She could tell he was gazing at her, even without looking.

A million words flew through her mind. How amazing and romantic that was. How the ecstasy-eliciting action didn't deserve to be called anything other than what Anne felt it was—making love.

But when it came down to it, Anne could only open her eyes for the briefest of moments and reach for his hand.

"Thanks for the…drink…" She felt his kiss on her forehead linger before his breathing settled into sleep.

Hours later, Anne awoke to the sound of Gilbert climbing out of bed. Anne raised up on one elbow to see Gilbert buttoning up a shirt, stepped into his boots.

"Hey," He whispered, smiling when he caught her gaze. He moved to lean down and kiss her face, touching her cheek lightly. "It's stopped raining, so I'm gonna head home. I'll see you again in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Gilbert," Anne reached to grab his wrist as he turned. They locked eyes again and Anne managed a smile. "Last night was…"

"I know." He finished for her. "Amazing."

"I was going to say incredible." She fell back against the pillows, watching with reluctance as he draped his now-dry coat over one arm and picked up his bags.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

At least now he wouldn't have to walk too far. At least now it wouldn't be long before they saw each other again.

Anne rolled over to look at the window. The sun had risen long enough ago that she could watch the last drops of rain on the open window roll gently down the glass.

The breeze was good for airing out the room, but it was also cold. Anne bundled up further, balling up under the blankets, their shared warmth fading fast.

She knew she could go back to her own bed now, should go, but the thought of getting out of the bed was too much. She was going to fall back asleep.

In her last few thoughts of clarity, she doubted that Matthew and Marilla would be back before she woke up again, but just in case, she had a plan to explain why she was sleeping in the guest room.

The storm last night had been awful. She'd just say that the shutters banging had scared her. It was believable as anything else.

Anne smiled into the pillow, Gilbert's scent still surrounding her, sending her into memories of last night so magical that it all could have just as easily been the perfect dream.

But they were real.


End file.
